Chicken Soup for the Thai Soul

I had an entire day to myself today! Nick and I have been switching off working every other day at new school that is an hour from where we are currently located. Every morning a white Mini Van [a really nice one to be honest. The inside is decorated like a limo, complete with flat screen tv, speakers, and led lighting all along the top.] It is packed with Thai Teachers, who insist that the A/C must be on freezing at all times.

Summer school is about to begin and we will FINALLY start teaching.  While we are still deciding whether we are going to move away from the main campus, which is really where the “social” scene is (if you can call it that). We have been moving around so much, I just want to plant some roots for a while! So today on my day off I decided it was time to fully unpack, and attempt to decorate and make this apartment feel like a home. [We just moved into our school apartment a week ago]

First things first, I rolled out of bed at about 9:30. Walked to the road to pick up a Song Tao, and went to the grocery store. Here I picked up some ingredients for my famous Chicken Soup. [Chicken,Carrots, Broccoli, Onions, Tomatoes, Pasta, what ever else I could find.] It was actually surprisingly chilly out today, and the mood was right! After the grocery store I walked back home and started preparing the soup!

 Our kitchen actually isn’t bad, we have 1 gas burner, with the big tank of gas sitting next to it. (Kinda scary, haven’t attempted to use it just yet) We bought ourselves an electric Wok .The apartment came with a combination rice cooker and a crock pot, a fridge, and a bunch of utensils! I really enjoy cooking, so it was nice to finally have a place with a workable kitchen.

Next chore on the list : Laundry, I know what you’re thinking “What a little housewife” But Nick did the laundry yesterday, which cost 40B (a little over 1$). And that’s just for the washer; dryers are few and far between in Thailand, So we do our best to share the duties! We have to hang everything, which can get very creative.Especially, when you have to make sure to stick to the culture; Socks on the bottom, and no under where are to be shown. It’s been about 2 days, so my jeans should be dry by now! I went out on the porch and took everything down, folded it nicely and put it all away.

 

Cleaned up around the house for a little bit. Swept and opened all the windows and aired out our apartment. It’s such a good feeling! A clean house, windows open and the smell of Chicken soup in the air!  It immediately reminds me of Lake Lugano [My home in Jacksonville, Fl.] Those random days when I would hear one of my roomies cleaning and it inspired me to clean the whole house!! I relaxed a little and continued some reading. I am currently in the middle of Eat Pray Love.

I really like it, better than the movie of course, but I’m not that fast of a reader, I read in little spurts.  We have no TV, or Internet in our room so I do have plenty of time on my hands. We did buy this air port card which we use more often at work to keep ourselves entertained in our down time, but it’s  v e r y  slow, basically dial up.  Luckily, I brought a bunch of games and movies with us so we do have some form of entertainment, thinking about getting a Texas Hold Em' Tournament going soon! Actually, pirated movies are easy to buy over here, even ones still in the theatre, and they only charge about 2$ per movie, needless to say my collection is getting out of control! Our apartment is pretty big, and it is soo close to the school we WONT be working at! Bummer :[ But none the less, it is what we call home till... who knows?

Over all it was a lovely day, Summer school will be starting on the 1^st so it was a nice down time day.  Nick should be home shortly, and we will probably go to the Internet café across the street, Skype with who ever is on, then watch a movie and eat a bowl of my Chicken Noodle Soup! :)

The view from our appartment door,

you can see the school through the trees!



This Blog is Dedicated to :
Cassi Carrington because I thought about her through-out my entire my day! <3 You!!



Elfalumps and Weasels

Day 2- Chiang Mai, Thailand

After skimming through an extensive collection of promotions that our guest house offered, we finally decided which excursion to choose. It wasn't too difficult really, when we saw what was included and how much it cost. When you think of Thailand you think of elephants, it's no wonder that the country itself is actually in the shape of one.  

Its a side profile... Do you see it?

So what was in store for us this time? For the price of 1,000 Baht [or 30 American Dollars] It was time, and long overdue, for us to ride some elephants! But not only elephants, this trip included transportation to and from, a stop at an orchid and butterfly garden, elephant ride through the jungle, a hike up a mountain to a waterfall, white water rafting, bamboo rafting, and if that wasn't enough a trip through a local village. It all went down a little like this...

7 am, bright and early we made our way to our Song Tao, (the vehicle I described as a truck with "2 Rows" in my previous Vlog) and met the 2 other people who would be joining our group.  A lovely French couple who spoke little English. Luckily for them, Cassandra is fluent in French and was able to help them out from time to time. I myself have never had the most politically correct view on the French, and would have to admit, quite an ignorant one.[Freedom Fries All the Way] The more French I meet, the more stereotypical they become...but more on that later. 

You know the saying, half the fun is the ride there?  Well this could not be more true. Even though it was so early, the 4 of us were very excited for this day we had ahead of us.  We decide it would be appropriate to act like school kids on a field trip and sing any song that came to mind. Including but not limited to any 1980-1990 television sitcom theme song, The Macarena, and Party in the USA. At this point I could only imagine what our 2 new French "friends" were thinking, although the girl did chime in from time to time when we sang a song she recognized! 

1st stop Orchid and Butterfly garden. This place was very tranquil and beautiful filled with so many different colored flowers and so beautifully arranged. I found it quite necessary to frolic up and down each aisle.  A great way to start your morning, highly recommend it! ;)

The flowers were my favorite part of this stop, the butterflies were a little lame to be honest. There were very few, and most were boring colors like brown and black.  This is the best one I could find, but it was cool to see none the less! 

Next: Elephant Jungle

After a 15 minute walk through fields and over bridges we could see the elephants in the distance!! I was so excited! Finally, going on an elephant ride and who could ask for a better setting? In the middle of the hills/mountains surrounded by only more fields and mountains! So secluded and not flooded with tourists! Two by two we  slowly mounted our elephants, first the french couple, then Michelle and Cassandra and finally Nick and I. Except when we got on ours, we didn't have a lovely Thai man joining us.. off we went into the wilderness with out a guide, just me, Nick, and the elephant whose name slips my mind at the moment.  Lucky for me I got to sit bare back around his neck, no ropes, no seatbelt... NO-NOTHING! It was pretty scary at first to be honest with you. But once we made our way... it got easier! 

This was the best picture I could take, it's quite difficult to capture the perfect image while mounted on an enormous creature! Over the river and through the woods...with frequent stops by our elephant to eat! He didn't listen very well to the other guides yelling at him, but I thought that added character and grew quite fond of our ride. 

It was such a cool feeling to be so close, let alone riding such a majestic creature! His skin was so rough, and furry!  About half way through I traded with Nick for the safer seat, so he could experience what it felt like to jump into "The Jungle Book".

It was so soothing, and thrilling at the same time! 

Nick felt like he was King of the Jungle! 

After about a 45 minute trek, it was feeding time! Despite the amount of food our elephant acquired along the way,  he didn't turn down any of our snacks. For a "donation" of 20 baht, we fed the elephants whole, un-peeled bananas. You could tell this was their favorite part because their eyes lit up, they got big smiles on their face, and became much more playful! 

It was such a memorable experience, and although we hear they do not treat the elephants as good as they could, I'm glad we did it!  After we were done, we stopped and had a little lunch, cashew chicken and white rice! 

Of course at some point there had to be a women selling her "Handmade Crafts" right outside the bathroom. Although her items for sale were rather unique. I could spot the Herf Jones "Marines"  ring from a mile away, she insisted that she "made herself".  I chuckled to myself and kindly declined her offer for me to buy it. 

After such an amazing time, I would have been satisfied with just the elephant ride! But, our day had just begun! Where to next? An hour hike up the side of the mountain, to a small waterfall where we were able to swim. I however opted out of the swimming, the water was far to cold for my Florida skin. The view was just fine for me! And after the hour hike, my out of shape body could use the break.  Michelle and Cassandra dove right in, shortly followed by Nick and our adorable tour guide, "G". For some reason Thai's don't LOVE to swim! Most of the time if they do go in, they are fully clothed. 

Next stop on our jammed packed day was white water rafting, and to my surprise they had safety gear! 

Even though we looked like complete dweebs, I throughly appreciated the vest and helmet! In our raft and off  the six of us go! Down the river, rowing ourselves. We were not the most coordinated group out there. Personally, I blame the French. On the right side of the boat were Nick, Michelle, and I... and on the left was the lovely French couple and Cassandra. Our guide would say "Row, faster, faster!" and we would just go in a circle, on more than 1 occasion I saw the couple put down their oars! It was very frustrating, as I am sure anyone who has ever rowed a boat of any kind, knows that rowing in unison is the key to moving forward. Aside from our lazy companions, we did some how manage to make it down the river. 

Out of one raft and onto another. From the blown up raft (that I'm pretty sure was leaking air) to a floating bamboo raft. This one was much more relaxing as all we had to do was sit and float.  After a short trip to a local village our day had finally come to a end. 

And what a long yet eventful day it was! Such an exciting way to see more of this beautiful country I currently call "Home".  Every once in a while there are those moments where you stop and think about what you are doing. Occasionally,  I stop and say "Okay, I'm on the other side of the world. Now I'm on an elephant".  The longer I am here, the more I grow appreciation for my life and all the amazing people in it. Especially my amazing boyfriend Nicholas Watt.. who was very sneaky during this trip and put together a beautiful video for me. 

It showcases the amazing scenery along the way: I hope you enjoy. 

Getting there is half the fun!

All Aboard!!

After 3 long and stressful weeks of teaching, it is finally time for a vacation! ;) 2 weeks of freedom, and a whole new continent to conquer! Where to first? The decision was made, and Chiang Mai it was! Chiang Mai is a beautiful part of Northern Thailand. It is famous for many things including: Elephants, Handmade pottery and crafts, Wooden Umbrellas, and of course its silver. [haha this description was taken right out of the 4th grade social studies textbook!]

Our Journey begins as soon as class is over! With one final afterschool meeting where we say goodbye to some foreign teachers, and welcome the new ones! Pack our bags, and off we go. Our group consisted of Nick and I, and our wonderful travel buddies/co-workers Michelle, and Cassandra! Michelle is an American from Colorado, who is a firecracker in her own sense. Cassandra is a Mexican who has broken all the typical “Mexican” stereotypes for me. Our little group has been getting along well, and Nick being the only boy has a interesting week ahead of him! We hailed a taxi and got the heck out of dodge! Bang Bon [the town where our school is located] is a very small town, with not much to do other than go to the Internet café, shopping, or watch movies! Needless to say, we are very excited about our trip. Not much is planned, more of a 'Do as you go' type traveling. This is actually my favorite form. I am not known as the planner of the family and having a detailed itinerary is not my thing. Where’s the fun in that? No surprises! No adventure! The only thing planned is where we are staying and how we are getting there!

Which brings me to the beginning of our trip. After a long, but entertaining taxi ride to the train station we exchanged our number with the driver. Then planned to have dinner at what he described as, his “small home made of wood”, in exchange for some English lessons. He had a laugh that could make anyone smile, and a desire to learn English like no other. It's people like this taxi driver, and moments like this that make being here worth it. The people who truly want to learn and better them selves,are very inspiring, and instill a sense of pride in myself and my country![USA] Little did I know that this sense of pride would inspire a new way for my travel buddies and I to converse! What I mean by this is for the duration of the trip we would randomly start talking in a very southern redneck accent. Saying things like “Ya’ll and What in tarnasion?” Coming up with silly sayings like, “Well your about as ugly as the East end of a horse going West!” I highly recommend it to anyone who is in need of a good laugh. Especially when you have Cassandra, Mexico native, trying her best to master our southern slang.

I digress. We arrive at the train station around 5pm. Not knowing what we were getting ourselves into, I was actually pleasantly surprised! The station was beautiful (by my standards). Filled with many people waiting to travel all over Thailand. We did the usual things to keep us busy, read books, listened to random people playing guitar, played cards, observed some Monks.

    

                             *Cassandra*

Our Lovely Travel Buddies, reading their naughty novels! 


*Michelle*

Something I really love about Thailand and being a part of a Kingdom is that every day at 6pm no matter where you are, if you are by a speaker or radio, you will hear the National Anthem being played. At this point, everyone is to stop what you are doing, stand with your hands by your side and pay respects to your country! Nothing bad will happen to you if you don't, it's just common courtesy and respect. It's like the end of a musical number, where everyone magically knows the choreography and bursts out into song and dance. Then when the song is over, everyone nonchalantly goes back to what they were doing! It is a very proud moment for me, as we have been trained to stop and stand still when we hear it begin playing. But most travelers coming to Thailand don’t.

So the minute I hear it playing, I stand at attention. Maybe a bit over exaggerated at times to show off that I may be a “forang” but I do respect and follow Thai customs! I wish this was something we did in America, but being the cluster fuck of personalities that we are I am sure people would find it to be more of a communist, socialist act as oppose to instilling pride in our nation.

Onto the train we go, and for 750 Baht, [About 25$] we buy ourselves a 2nd class ticket from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. This gets us a private sleeper car, with fresh linen, a pillow, a bed and a curtain for privacy! I hadn’t been on a train since I moved from New York to Florida and was almost as excited for the ride as the entire trip! 15 Hours on a train can sound long, and boring. But it was actually a lot of fun! We put down our backpacks, placed our order for breakfast the next morning and made our way to the Dining Car.

Here the 4 of us chatted about life, what we were doing, and how much we loved the decision we made! Somehow we wandered on to the topic of astrology, which led to looking up each other’s signs, and talking about our personality characteristics.Which then led to which element we were. Who is Fire? Air? Water? Each of us is actually 1 of the 4 elements; I suppose this is why we get along so well. We balance each other out perfectly! A few beers and a couple of hours later we decided it was time to turn in for the evening. We retired to our bunks, and went to sleep to the gentle rocking of the train! And when we awake, we shall be at our destination.

Next Stop--→ Chiang Mai!


Cheers!








*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*Question of the Day*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*


If the United States of America played the national anthem at a certain time everyday, would you observe it, or ignore?


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My first Video Blog*

Hope you enjoy the Break from Reading! <3 ;)





Cheers!

My Favorite Things

Living in Thailand has been quite the experience! On a daily basis I see so many new and interesting things that really nothing surprises me anymore.  For example, Last night on our way home from dinner a huge rat ran by us and went underneath the sidewalk, 5 minutes prior to that a family of ducks were eating garbage out of the dumpsters, and prior to that, a little boy was sitting in a field playing with his pet rooster.

Aside from the many different animals I see every day, there are many things I have grown to appreciate about Thailand. I’ve decided to compile a list of my favorite things so far.

Rain drops on roses, and whiskers on kittens…[Sorry could not avoid that one!]

1. First things first, would have to be the people. Everyone can be so kind and friendly, with out fully understanding the language we seem to get around quite easily. As long as you don’t walk around like you own the place and greet everyone properly, the Thai people will do their best to work with you.

2.  In most restaurants when you order a beer, it comes with a Koozie, (or as they call it a Beer Condom). Genius, I wish bars in the states would catch on to this ingenious idea, then I wouldn’t have to bring one with me everywhere I go!

3. This one kinda goes with number 2, under Restaurant etiquette, it isn't rude to bring your own liquor places, and just pay for a glass of ice or mixer!

4. Your body aches, and you want a massage. Here you don’t have to spend a days pay for one, nor do you even have to make an appointment, just walk in. Tell the lady what you want and for how long… 5 American dollars and 1 hour later, you walk out relaxed and refreshed. The availability of massage parlors is endless, with at least 4-5 on one block!  So if there is a wait, one is never very far. I am averaging about 1 every Week in a half. :)

5. Mosquito’s are everywhere, and a constant battle. Putting on Bug Spray has actually become part of my daily routine; Brush my hair, wash my face, put on deodorant, and spray down from head to toe with bug spray.  They actually have re-invented the fly swatter, and it has quickly become my favorite past time. It is a tennis racquet but instead of normal strings, it is electrically charged! Like a fly swatter bug zapper, its gets so hot that the bugs actually spontaneously combust!

6. Friendly taxi drivers who like to learn English, as a trade for new Thai words. 

7. All Asian babies... I may take one home with me. 

8. The relaxed attitudes and lack of rules. 

9. All the pens here are Fine Point, I would search high and low for them in "The States"

And number 10. [Submitted by Nick] - " The lack of Douchbags"

Well that’s it for now, I shall be traveling to Northern Thailand for the next week or so, to visit Chiang Mai and do a quick Visa run to Laos! We are taking a 14 hour train ride and should arrive some time tomorrow. We are traveling with our two wonderful friends Michelle & Cassandra Many stories and pictures to come! 

See you soon! 

   Cheers!